


dis\/order

by sonshineandshowers



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:42:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23281183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonshineandshowers/pseuds/sonshineandshowers
Summary: Malcolm gets shoved and falls at a scene. Textbook Bright.
Comments: 11
Kudos: 55





	dis\/order

Ainsley texted him a fourth time, asking if he was okay. He hadn’t shown up at dinner earlier, yet had provided his regrets ahead of time. In another household, this would have left him alone, yet in his, it made him a prime target. “Held up with Gil - I’m fine,” he replied.

“Bright!” Gil called, Malcolm teetering again in the kitchen. Heaven forbid he sit in a chair that would hold him better. Gil’s grip kept him on the stool.

Crumbling wasn’t on the menu. Cup of broth and a warm compress, and then he could be off to bed. One hand held his head up against the counter next to an open book he had been reading earlier, the other held the mug Gil had prepared. His phone never stopped shaking, and in the back of his mind, he supposed he probably didn’t either.

Dani texted him, “You good?”

Edrisa sent a flurry of texts he had to silence to ignore, instead just sending back, “I’m fine.”

Fine. For the ease he shared the word, he sure couldn’t find it. Much as he tried to ignore it, pain still curled up near his spine. He lifted his shirt and angled his head, trying to see if he could reach the sore spot.

Gil swatted his hand away, replacing it with a heat pack from the microwave, now cool enough it wouldn’t scorch his skin. Malcolm first winced, yet relaxed into it, Gil needing to use his other hand to keep him steady.

Heat creeped into Malcolm’s back, soothing the ache that had been complaining since he’d fallen on the stairs. Part suspect, part wrong place at the right time, part Bright. _Always_ part Bright.

Injured. Swivel and crack, he slammed into the concrete stairs, his arm on the railing catching him. Not enough to wrench him, but sufficient to keep him from falling the rest of the way down. An angry shove that snapped his mouth shut, Dani stepping in to arrest the culprit.

JT picked him up, but Malcolm brushed him off, saying he was fine to get outside. A designation JT’s quirked lips told him he didn’t believe, but he escaped anyway. They all stayed behind, finishing with the scene.

Kicking the door open, Malcolm hobbled out, clutching his back. Whether it was the twist or the hit, he didn’t know, but _fuck_ it hurt. A puff of swelling grew under his hand. As he took in gasps of air, it kept inflating.

Lumbering to the car, he sunk into the passenger seat and waited for Gil to return to him. He didn’t bother with the seatbelt, focusing all of his energy on breathing to regulate the pain. He got his eyes closed, then remembered.

Mother. Dinner. “On a case,” he shot a message, hoping she was busy working. “Won’t make it this week.”

Not that no was in her vocabulary or he could be that lucky. She fired a litany back, complaining couldn’t he spend his meal hour with her, that his bird ate better. A scattershot army to his one-man band. He didn’t stand a chance.

Only he knew food was the furthest thing from his mind. He took another deep breath, boxing his pain into smaller and smaller compartments in his head. If he could shut it out, maybe Gil would let him go back to the precinct instead of home to nothingness.

Powell rapped on the window and he rolled it down. She didn’t ask _how’s the back_ or question what he was thinking. “Stop doing that!” she demanded, her eyes flaring, and he started to protest that talking to suspects was part of his job - he couldn’t help it if they got riled up in response.

“Quit while you’re ahead, kid,” Gil slid in next to him. Gil shared a smile across to Dani, and she shook her head at Malcolm.

Riding home took away the reprieve Malcolm had hoped for. His hands fidgeted, unsure what to do with himself to calm further. Gil asked, “Want me to stay with you?”

Sunshine could use someone to play with, as it wouldn’t be him this evening. “Sure.” Always Malcolm’s answer when Gil offered. Rarely the answer for others.

Tarmel texted as he climbed the stairs. “You alright?”

Unfortunately not. Not that he'd say anything. He replied, “Fine,” and set the phone between his elbows on the counter. JT’s response stared up at him, “Liar.”

Voluntarily sitting on a stool, Malcolm hung his head while Gil worked in the kitchen. Nothing fancy - a scoop of bullion into a pot of water, a heat pack slipping into the microwave. His phone buzzed again.

Whitly, sending a request for _Words with Friends_. What the fuck? Who gave him a cellphone. He threw a mint in his mouth and crunched down.

Xylitol never tasted so sweet. It turned his stomach, making him regret going along with Gil’s decision to make him a meager meal. A mug appeared on the counter in front of him and he responded to a new text from Ainsley.

Youth reappeared every time he took a spill. The kid who took too many falls and never really got up to full standing again. The kid who couldn’t go to a scene without opening his _damn_ mouth. Now silent -

Zoned out at the counter. Gil pulled him from reverie. "C'mon, lets get you in bed, kid."

_Ainsley, Bright crumbling. Dani, Edrisa fine, Gil. Heat injured JT. Kicking lumbering mother. Not only Powell. Quit riding Sunshine, Tarmel. Unfortunately voluntarily Whitly. Xylitol, youth zoned._

Malcolm looked at Gil in confusion, wondering when candy had become forbidden for kids, when Sunshine had gotten a saddle, when JT had become Sunshine-sized, and how somehow The Surgeon had something to do with all of it. “Fell asleep on your book, kid."

Gil closed the tome, Malcolm surprised to see it held weapons, not a strange alphabet cover. Fuck, he was beat.

His phone buzzed again on the counter.

* * *

_fin_


End file.
